True North Fun

As many of you know, we are very active in our adult Sunday School class at church, True North. We hosted our second annual True North Jenga Tournament on Saturday night. Our player's reached a new achievement by stacking the Jenga Blocks 34 and 2/3 high. Apparently that isn't AMAZING according to the Jenga box. To be amazing you have to achieve 36 complete levels. The record is held at 40 and 1/3 levels. I can't imagine! It gets so intense when the tower is that high that you don't dare breath for fear you may tip it! :)

Jenga - It is a game where you prove just how gutsy you are...

It requires a great deal of concentration, thinking and skill.

Each move requires a delicate touch and great precision!

It is nerve wracking even for the spectators!

After a long and exhausting night of play, the final battle is yet to be played. These two must now face off for the honor and glory of being declared,

"True North Jenga Tournament Champion 2008."

It really is all very dramatic...at least in my mind!

Buca-di-Jacko!

We enjoyed a yummy dinner out at Buca di Beppo's on Friday evening. We found out that Jack LOVED the fettuccine alfredo. Why would we be surprised? He eats everything!!! It was a very entertaining evening. Jack seriously ate so much food. Once we polished off our delicious meal, I took Jack into the very very tiny restroom to wash off the alfredo sauce. I was very glad that Jeremy's sister, Julie, was with me as I had discovered that Jack's abundant eating had led to limited space in his little body. Needless to say we had to bathe Jack from head to toe using wipes in a bathroom the size of a hall closet...Oh, and the outfit in this picture is not the outfit he wore home! :) Good Times!

I Don't Want to Crawl...

Jack still at 11 months and two days is refusing to have anything to do with crawling. Instead he rolls over (in any direction) and wiggles his body little by little, in a sitting up position, until he gets to a close by destination.

Just for fun the other day Jeremy and I put Jack on his back in the middle of the room and we sat on opposite sides of the rug from him. Jeremy and I did our best to call to him and entice him to roll to us. I won round one. We switched sides for round two, wondering if perhaps he just rolled to the side he prefers to roll on. Well, Jack decided not to play our game anymore. He won!

Jack's preference is to walk. He wants to hold onto our hands and walk everywhere. He loves it. He especially loves to walk kick things too. The only trouble with this fun activity is that it can be very hard one's back. For Christmas Jack got a new toy that he can practice walking with. He loves it and wants to play with it all the time. He looks so cute holding on tight and walking around. We love it!

2/12/08 UPDATE:

Did you know that crawling is NOT a developmental milestone? I was a little concerned about this (as you know, Jack wants nothing to do with crawling and everything to do with walking). Nonetheless, I asked our doctor about this at Jack's one year check up. She said it is nothing to be concerned about. They don't even consider it a developmental milestone. It has NOTHING to do with how he will develop. She said that there are many kids that do not crawl. They skip it and go right to walking. I was overly concerned about this because several people told me that he will have issues with language development, speech delays or reading difficulties. According to our family doctor and research I have done, these are outdated 1970's philosophies that are disregarded in the medical field. There is no scientific link between crawling and developmental delays.

Sorry for the Delay...

We have not updated in a while!

Where has the time gone? Well, here is what you missed:

1. Jack's First Christmas - It was wonderful! I was trying to make a slideshow of Christmas Pictures on the Blog - but it turns out that the computer is still smarter than me. If you want to see a Jack's First Christmas Slideshow, please click on this link: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=1AbsXLFuzasXUA&emid=sharshar&linkid=link4





2. Ringing in a New Year - Well, when you have a baby, things don't get too rowdy! We were at home and Jack was in bed!


3. Under Construction - We are currently finishing the bonus space above our garage. There have been all sorts of construction workers in and out. Jack and I have been held hostage by the workers who have to be here...It has been fun to see the progress move along. We are looking forward to use this new space as an office/craft room/guest room. We are taking reservations now! :)


4. Switching to Milk - Well, my New Year's resolution was to wean Jack and have him on milk before I leave for my "Girls Weekend" in February. We are underway and it is going well. Jack is taking his milk from a sippy cup during the day. Our biggest day struggle is getting him to set his cup down on his high chair tray and not dropping it onto the floor. This past week he has had some trouble sleeping through the night - so we are working that out now too. One of the biggest changes is in routines. We are starting new routines that involve milk and a cup in place of the old systems.


5. Count Down to the Start of Year Two - Plans are underway for a Barnyard Birthday Bash to celebrate Jack's first birthday with family. It pains me to think that one year has almost come and gone. It has been a wonderful year - but it has gone too fast.


That is all I can think of for now. I am sure there will be more to come!